Wydad Casablanca made light work of the Canadian side Saint-Laurent, easing to a 7-0 win in a one-sided friendly in Washington as preparations continue for their Club World Cup debut in the United States.
Samuel Opoku Obeng stole the show with a hat-trick, while Aziz Khi, Suleiman Mualimo, Mohamed Rayhi and Osama Zamraoui also got on the scoresheet.
Yes, the opposition wasn’t exactly elite, but Wydad’s performance will be a welcome boost to morale ahead of a seriously tough group stage. They kick off their campaign against European champions Manchester City on June 18, before taking on Juventus and Al Ain later this month.
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Head coach Mohamed Amine Benhachem knows what’s coming:
“We’re not here to admire the big clubs. Wydad has a proud history, and we want to defend it,” he told reporters. “Manchester City and Juventus are huge names, of course. But football is played on the pitch, not in trophy cabinets.”
The team is currently holding a closed training camp in Maryland, with most of the squad already in the US.
The newly-recruited Syrian striker Omar Al Soma is due to link up with the group soon, while Brazilian defender Guilherme Ferreira is undergoing a separate fitness programme.
This is Wydad’s only friendly before the tournament begins, and the result, while lopsided, offers confidence..
“Why not dream?” said Benhachem. Given what Moroccan football has achieved recently, it’s a fair question.
